Happy Warm Weather Everyone!

Hey there again everybody!  Sorry I'm a little behind with your favorite blog (yes I know, modesty becomes me) ;-) but it's been all kinds of crazy over here at Lake Brandt getting the bus ready for hitting the town.  And the past few weeks, we hit it hard! 

On Wednesday, April 9th Neil and I were at the Water Festival at Lake Townsend.  We had a spot under one of the picnic shelters and Neil got to teach lessons on the water cycle with his very cool Enviro-Scape.  The kids were definitely into it and learning alot, and I was just trying not to steal his "dirt" from the model...since his "dirt" was actually powdered cocoa.  :)  If it were Nestle Quik, he'd have had no chance!  Mwah ha ha... 

 

After Neil was done with his talk I would teach the kids about some of the animals in and around aquatic environments.  I brought Delia, my favorite snapping turtle of course, plus an Eastern Kingsnake and a Red-Ear Slider (she's good because we can talk about aquatic turtles AND invasive species!)  :)

The day after that Neil, Jen and I took the bus to St. Pius X and had a great time with the awesome kids there!  We rotated through over each hour so the kids got to see the bus with Neil, play ecology games in the field with Jen and have a class with me about animals and ecosystems.  We did that a bunch of times so that we could see as many kids as possible.

And then there was Saturday (April 12th) ...the BIG day.  Neil and I took the bus to Burlington for the Herp Fest.  A big celebration of all things reptile and amphibian at Burlington City park.  We set up right in the middle and were there the whole day talking about the bus and our great new Environmental Education program...and of course the animals!  I will tell you, a few hours with ~30 lbs of boa constrictor on your shoulders might give you a slight crick in the neck (not to mention telescoping your spine a bit!).  But it was worth it!  Austin had a great time and so did all the animals and people who came to visit. 



Emily got to have fun, AND make sure Cookie behaved himself! :-)

Another great point by the way, we were lucky enough to have our future intern Emily G come out to lend a hand and she really added something to our presence that day.  She was great with the kids, helped Neil and I out in setting up, and even kept Cookie in line (which is no easy task!).  I'll do a post about Cookie some other time...suffice it to say he's a cantankerous, I mean, spirited Amazon parrot :-) All in all, it was an absolutely great day!



On Sunday (4/13) there was a new team-up.  Taylor and I took the bus downtown to a Plant Sale at the local Farmer's Market.  It was a very nice venue, and I did my best to behave myself and not go buy a bunch of plants.  Taylor and I got there in the morning and set up and were able to have some fun and interact with a bunch of people who came onto the bus during their visit to the sale.  It was very cool to see many of the local vendors and talk to them about what they do.  I even got to talk to a very nice gentleman who not only is a beekeeper, but does some very fine woodworking in his spare time.  I bought a jar of his raw, wildflower honey and must say...it's Awesome!  :-D 

Whew!  Okay, just writing about all of that makes me tired  - doing it wore me out!  Thank goodness for caffeine.  Now that you're mostly caught up, I hope all of you guys have a stupendous week and I'll talk to you soon!  The next big thing... April 26th.  We're going to have Paddlefest at Lake Brandt  (which is going to be amazing).  Just click on the link for more info or you can call the Lake Brandt office at (336) 373- 3741.  Enjoy the nice weather and we'll see you soon! 

Progress, Progress, Progress...

Hey there everyone!  It’s another great week here at Lake Brandt and as usual, we are plowing ahead with getting the ECO Bus ready for its new season of fun and education.  Over the past week or two, there have been some pretty big strides made.  For one thing, we now have our own phone number dedicated just to the bus and EE programs.  If you ever want to get hold of me for program scheduling, questions about the ECO Bus or Environmental Education, or even if you just want to know where to drop off an extra calzone you may have, you can just give me a ring! The new phone number is (336) 373-7620.  If I’m not in the office, just leave me a message and I’ll get right back with you as soon as I can. 



Mmmmm...bring to me... :-) 



Also exciting is that we now have a web address as well!  Melissa has been working on it like crazy and though it’s not live just yet, it will be soon.  The address is going to be www.gsoecobus.com   -Right now that address takes you to the city’s Environmental Education site, but soon it will be your online portal to the ECO Bus…(you know, not counting this blog).  ;-)  I’m not going to list this blog because let’s face it, if you’re reading this now – then you’ve already found it! J  There is also a Parks and Recreation Facebook page which generally has links on it to the ECO Bus and our EE programming.  www.facebook.com/GreensboroCityLakes

The time is getting close for us to begin our busy season with the bus and we definitely are working hard to make sure that the word is out there and that you guys can get in touch with us for information and programming. 

In fact, don’t forget that out first venue is coming up!  In a little under two weeks, on April 5^th we will be at the Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Library from 1-5 pm for their Earth Day Celebration.  If you want to find out more about it, click on this link HERE.  It’s looking like it will be a great event and I’m really looking forward to attending and getting to have some fun with everyone.  There will be a lot of exhibitors and some great activities and information going around. 

And of course, I’ll be there with the bus!  And         

  

some of the animals too…

I’m trying to think of who I want to bring…

J

Okay, well you guys have a great week and I’ll see you soon!  I’m off to get back to work on the bus! 

Moving Right Along...

Hey there everybody!  Hope you’re enjoying the day so far!  This is your regularly scheduled update and hello from the wonderful world of environmental education and the ECO Bus.  J  Things are going well here at the park - we’ve been working on the bus’ construction, scheduling programs and in general getting things all set to kick off a great and busy season of EE (that’s environmental education for you newcomers!).  Our first big event is coming up on Saturday, April 5^th- at the Kathleen Clay library.  They’re having an Earth Day Celebration and the bus and us (yeah, sorry- I didn’t actually mean to rhyme that) will be in attendance to have some fun and spread some knowledge.  You guys should definitely come out to visit!  And the next Saturday (4/12) we will be up at the Herp Fest in Burlington.  We’ll be talking all about native reptiles and amphibians (and you know I’m bringing a few with us!) J 

Oh, and good news!  Even in the midst of all this nasty winter weather that just won’t seem to go away, we have officially seen the first snake of the season!  Last Friday while in the woods at Lake Brandt, Neil happened upon a nice size garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) coiled up and getting some sun on the nice warm day.  These snakes are very cool - they’re primarily fish and invertebrate eaters, they have live babies and when they go dormant during the colder months they have a tendency to do it with company.  Garter snakes (as well as a number of other species) will actually congregate in a sheltered area called a hibernacula in large masses to hibernate together. 

 

They don’t get very large and are harmless, attractive snakes - actually very popular in the pet industry.  Wild ones have a tendency to musk (spray a stinky secretion from a gland by their back end or cloaca) when handled or bothered but captive raised ones are usually pretty docile.  In fact, my first pet snake was a garter snake.  J 

Well hope all of you have a great week and I’ll keep you updated as things happen here!  See you soon!     

Even more fun on the Bus!

Hi there everyone!  I hope that you’ve all been having a stupendous week so far!  So here’s what’s going on with the ECO Bus…



We’re really gaining some momentum and have been hard at work meeting people and talking to the community to let them know what’s available.  And as a result, starting in April we are going to be BUSY!  We’re going to hit the ground running (err, excuse me- rolling) and start attending various events around town.  We’ll be going to a couple of schools and trying to go to as many of the Earth Day celebrations that we can.  In addition we’ll be hitting the Water Festival at Lake Townsend and the HerpFest up in Burlington!  That’s going to be fun! 



Neil is my carpenter extraordinare'! 



I love my new enclosures! :-)

Neil and Melissa and I have been working hard on the bus’ renovations so that we have the majority of it completed when it goes out in April.   Neil has finished up a bank of 8 enclosures on the bus for smaller animals like invertebrates and reptiles and they look great.  My animals are going to be very happy in their travel homes.  J    The next step is trying to put together a nocturnal exhibit for the bus as well as get my sustainability wall together.  Oh yes, we are going to have some darn good exhibits on that bus for everyone to enjoy!

Getting the Ball, err... Bus, Rolling...

Hey there everyone! Hope you’ve been having a good week and enjoyed watching the snow disappear! So here’s an update on how everything has been coming with the bus… It’s been a pretty productive week. We’ve been getting some booking in the office for the next few months to do educational classes and bring the ECO Bus out. It’s really exciting and I can’t wait to be going out each day to do stuff with you guys!

Also, we’ve been really starting to move forward with our renovations to the bus. Yesterday, my compatriot and Master Builder (oh yes, I DID see the Lego movie…) Neil and I went to Lowe’s to pick up some supplies. He’s going to work on some of my live animal enclosures in one area of the bus. Once these are completed I will be able to put small animals and even invertebrates into them to come out and be used for education. Probably some things like snakes, turtles…and tarantulas and Madagascan hissing cockroaches…

...You know, fun stuff! And that’s just the beginning…we have big plans for the bus and by the time it’s done, it’s going to be something to impress! Melissa and I were on it the other day pulling off some of the old fixtures and making room for the new ideas. We’re planning/hoping/wishing/endeavoring/working hard to have it done by the beginning of April so that when we start going to schools and other events it will no longer be a work in progress. It’s going to have a central theme around North Carolina, with varying aspects of the environment and science thrown in…plus a few extra goodies ;-) We’re even working on some concepts to redo the outside of the bus, like some new graphics and hopefully a paint job.  

Before... 

After...

It'll be a surprise... 

Like I was saying before, we’re already booked to be at a few public events in April for Earth Day and some others. In the next posting or two, I’ll put up a list of where the bus will be appearing in case you’d like to come out and visit us! Which you definitely should…since it would be awesome! :-)

Meet some of the kids!

Hey there everyone!  Hope that you've all had a safe week and been able to stay warm with all the winter weather we've been getting!  Either that or you were able to pelt a few people with snowballs, just for fun! 

This week's posting is going to highlight a few of the animals that you might see in a program if the ECO Bus come out to you.  I have always been a big fan of animals and think some of my best programs are a mix of living things and good information.  I can talk about snakes all day, but it's much better to see one in person and maybe even touch and hold it.  It definitely makes a connection you aren't soon to forget.  :)

So there are a number of animals that you may be seeing when it's time for a program.  Today we're going to talk about two of them.  Both of them sometimes get a bad reputation, but after years working with them I can tell you they are worth their weight in gold (or calzones...mmmmm...) when it comes to education.

The first one I want to introduce you to is Austin.  Austin is a Columbian Boa Constrictor, sometimes called a Red-Tailed Boa because of the way his pattern changes on the back third of his body. 

He's about 7 feet long and thicker around then my arm.  I got him in the spring of 2000 when he was about 1 1/2 years old.  So right about now that would make him around 15 years old.  In boa terms, he's an older boy- they can live to about 20 years of age. Now his size does make him a bit daunting to some, but I can tell you from 13 1/2 years of working together that he is one of the most docile and gentle snakes I have ever come across.  I have used him in education work from zoos, to schools and into camp programs.  I have had him stretched across a half dozen girl scouts who all were giggling as they tried to hold him up and didn't bat an eye.  (Mind you, that would be hard since snakes don't have eyelids...)  ;-) 

A little biology on him - he's a non venomous snake, and like all snakes is a carnivore.  Which means they eat other animals.  Austin, being a constrictor would normally grab and wrap around his food and squeeze until the prey is suffocated.  But being a good parent like I am ;-), he doesn't get live food- his meals consist of frozen rats, chickens and guinea pigs which I keep in a big food freezer (not my regular freezer!  I keep my frozen rodents and ice cream separate!)  He eats once a week after I thaw out and warm his food up, and lives in a big enclosure which is kept at a nice toasty tropical temperature for my South American friend.  He is one of my favorite education animals and I can pretty much tell you that if a program has the room for him, he'll be coming along with me to help convince people that reptiles, and especially snakes are not things to be feared or disliked, but appreciated and enjoyed.  Many people do not like snakes, but after meeting Austin, a lot of them think again.  :)

My other friend who I would like to introduce you to this week is another great education animal, though she is a good deal less cuddly than Austin.  Her name is Delia and she is a Common Snapping Turtle.  The same species that you will find in waterways around our area and crossing the roads occasionally.  Although she is originally a Florida girl.

Her size is roughly bigger than a saucer, but not quite to dinner plate status yet.  She's going to be a very big turtle - some snapping turtles can get close to 50 lbs.!  She's a full carnivore and enjoys a diet of fish, chicken, shrimp and rodents.  I try to keep my fingers out of her diet, mind you.  She has the typical snapping turtle personality, which to say leaves a little to be desired in terms of sweetness.  But it is good when I use her in an educational program so that people can get an accurate perception of how a snapping turtle would look and act.  And also when we discuss behavioral adaptations...but more on that when I'm teaching!  She has a nice big aquatic tank with a land area she almost never uses, a filter she likes to destroy and a cave she loves.  I'll let her enjoy it for a bit longer...eventually I'll have to build her a pond outside to live in...or install one in my living room.  :-)  She's a very cool, and impressive animal and does enjoy displaying her grouchiness when she's out doing programs.  I can pretty much guarantee she'll always be "smiling" when we're out...and just waiting for me to not be paying attention with my fingers.  :-) 

        

Getting the programs ready!

Hey there everybody!  Hope it’s been as good a week for you guys as it has for me!  Just been working on getting some programs written and ready for when the ECO Bus goes out to schools.  My plan is to have as many available programs as possible ready to go so that if someone wants something particular, say on Reptiles or the Ecosystem then it’s all set and doable.  Of course, if there comes a time when someone wants a program that isn’t ready, then I sit right down, do a little research and make one.  There will be no program we can’t handle!

(Unless it’s on Clowns…ugh…you’re on your own with that one people!) J 

 Currently, the program list that is available is:

Reptiles & Amphibians

Mammals                                                   

Birds

Invertebrates

Fish

Paleontology

Ecosystems

The Water Cycle

Cryptozoology  (kind of a fun one!)

And I have another list of things that aren’t completed yet, but should really round out the possibilities so there will be something for everyone.  I’m working on getting the NC Essential education standards correlated with the programs, so not only are they going to be fun and informative but they’ll also satisfy some of the necessary school requirements for students.

I’m a very hands-on kind of educator and I really believe that if people can really connect with something then they’ll be more open to being interested and learning about it.  Now, the lecture thing is fine for some, but it’s not my style.  In fact it bores the tears out of me, and I feel that if you’re bored, then you stop taking in information and just don’t learn as much.  So when I teach, I do my best to engage students in the lesson and make sure they’re having fun as they learn.  So there will be discussions, points made through PowerPoint presentations, visual aids and depending on the program, there may even be some live animals to interact with!  People should enjoy learning – then they’ll want to do it more!  J   

So that’s a little preview on what you’ll be getting with the ECO Bus – if you have any suggestions for possible programs, leave me a comment on the blog and I’ll see what I can do!  Or you can email me here.  Have a great week everyone and talk to you soon!  J